The public was still not there ‘Dhurandhar’ which released in December and ‘Dhurandhar 2’ hit everyone in the face. The sequel surpassed the collections of the first half and became the first Bollywood film to cross 1 billion euros in India. At the worldwide box office, the film has exceeded 1.3 billion euros. While most southern celebrities have praised the movie, netizens are questioning the silence of Hindi film industry celebrities. Amidst all the noise, the manager Kunal Kohli shows how most people thought the film would lose steam on Monday after the first weekend and eventually see a drop in numbers. Dhurandhar 2 ReviewKohli said in a chat with Screen, “Even if the industry doesn’t accept a film, the film works. No one supported Dhurandhar. The biggest managers I spoke to on the phone, they said, ‘Astelehena ko baith jayegi’. Monday ko aur chal gayi,” he said, highlighting how the film exceeded expectations. He drew parallels with Anurag Singh’s Border 2 starring Sunny Deol, which despite its success also faced skepticism. “No one supported Border 2. People said mei thoda baith gayi in the second week. Rs 300 crore more has been made! What do you say! That’s a hit. End of debate. It doesn’t matter if the industry supports you or not,” Kohli added.Reflecting on his journey, Kohli said that the mindset of the industry has not evolved much since the release of the film Hum Tum. He recalled how producer Aditya Chopra advised him to skip a preview screening. “It was the same. Adlabs was one of the few multiplexes then and they had a Thursday preview. Hum Tum had a Thursday night preview. Adi (Aditya Chopra, producer) told me not to go because people in the industry wouldn’t pick up the film,” he shared.However, Kohli chose to attend the show to gauge the reactions firsthand, only to be disappointed. “I went for it, and the people there didn’t like the film. I was so depressed I called Adi. ‘I asked you not to go because I know it’s not their kind of film’. So 99% of the people in the industry don’t want you to succeed,” he said candidly.Despite the lukewarm response from the industry, Hum Tum, starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerjiwent on to become a commercial success and the defining romantic comedy. Kohli recalled a turning point for the veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan he called her personally to congratulate her. “It took time for the film to settle and get accepted. On Monday, at 1 pm, Adi, I and Rani were sitting in the office, still wondering whether it would flop or hold on Monday. Rakesh Roshan sir called me and said, ‘Kunal, your film is full house in the 12.30 pm slot on Monday. Congratulations, your film is a great success.” I said, ‘Okay. Thank you, sir.I hung up the phone and told Adi. He said, ‘I haven’t received a report from Indore yet, but Rakesh ji has,'” he recounted.Kohli also pointed out how Roshan supported his previous Mujhse Dosti Karoge! despite the poor performance of the film, which starred him. Hrithik Roshan. “There are people like Rakesh ji who will sponsor you, a new film. That’s why he is such a great filmmaker. Because he took it upon himself to call a young filmmaker to congratulate him. He could have called Yash (Chopra, the producer) ji, Adi or Saif, but he called me, the filmmaker. There are one or two in 100 people like that, but fortunately there are one or two,” Kohli said with a laugh.Questioning whether the industry’s public praise for Dhurandhar was genuine or strategic, Kohli dismissed the idea of mutual backlash. “It’s very small scratching my back. If you let someone scratch your back, they’re probably going to stab you in the back,” he stated, adding a sharp edge to his observations.
